how fitting is it that we spent the fifth weekend in cinque terre! ("five lands!") this trip was the one I planned before we even got Rome so I was very excited when it finally came to the moment of boarding the train! t'was kiersten, alex, kim, lindsey, raul, elizabeth and I! and what a fun little group it was! when we arrived in cinque terre it was late on Thursday night, a little brisk outside and quite lacking in taxis. finally, with a little go-get-em attitude we ended up flagging down a taxi-van with exactly 7 seats! once we got checking into the hostel and were given the information about the trains everyone was pretty much lights out from a long afternoon of traveling! we woke up bright and early to catch the shuttle down to the first city (Riomaggiore) we ate crepes for breakfast which were made to order right in front of you!! we hopped on the train with the intention of going to the second city (Manarola) but if we know anything about italy by now it is - expect the unexpected! we get off looking at the very beautiful but very not second city - Monterosso - the fifth city! so with a quick change of plans, we decide to hike down instead of up! unfortunately only 2 of the 4 hikes were open, but that was about 4 hours of hiking! gorgeous views of waterfalls, terrance farming, the beautiful Mediterranean, foliage, and bridges are what we got to enjoy on our very warm and scenic hike! on the first hike to Vernazza (the fourth city) we came across an oh-so-casual jewelry stand! of course I had to buy something! we ate by the port in Vernazza, in a umbrella-ed little restaurant. we had to burn those calories somehow, and what way better than to make it to the middle city - the end of our hike - Corniglia! there we met an adorable couple, matt and molly, who were on their honeymoon! molly doesn't know it yet, but matt is taking her to Venice and Verona later on!! we took a train back to the second city and sought out these legendary cliffs! for what, you may ask? ahh, why for cliff jumping of course! quite the adrenaline rush with this 30 foot drop!! ( I went 3 times with alex!) raul nailed it with were we ate dinner! almost everyone ended up with pizza or pesto pasta and we all shared a bottle of cinque terre's finest Vino Bianco! the last day was reserved for some beach time, laying out and just relaxing from our little workout the day before! we were back in Rome Saturday night just in time to have a good nights sleep to wake up Sunday morning to go to mass one last time in St. Peter's Basilica and to hear the pope's blessing in the square! breath-taking as always!